2 Children Freeze To Death In Detroit, After Homeless Response Team Was Contacted 3 Times But Never Provided Shelter
By: Desmond Price
A family facing homelessness reached out at least three times to Detroit's homeless response team before two children froze to death in a van in a casino parking structure.
There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s start with how we’re going to address this story.
I’m going to address the reason why I wanted to highlight this particular story
We’ll provide the exact details of this tragic story
I’ll address my problems with how the media slanted the coverage of this story
My closing/call to action regarding the housing crisis
Why I Wanted To Highlight This Story
Within the last month, there has been an avalanche of news surrounding the new Trump administration. Through relentless executive orders, Elon Musk’s illegal seizures of Government data, Trump threatening to annex Gaza, threats of trade wars…it’s pretty easy to get lost in the the fury that comes from engaging with the news cycle.
Additionally, one of the byproducts of paying attention to this new administration, is stories that fall outside of Trump world, unfortunately get lost in the shuffle.
When Independent Thought was mostly a podcast in 2021 & 2022, it was these particular stories that I consistently wanted to shine a light on. The stories that fall through the cracks, but absolutely NEED amplification.
For those who are still newer to my platform - I have spent a lot of time over the years talking about the housing crisis. Through episodes of my podcast, videos on YouTube, several posts on my Instagram account, it’s a topic I routinely come back to. A topic that is very close to my heart.
As someone who has been close to homelessness more than once, I know how a few circumstances can upend your life & force you onto the street. The trauma and overall negative impact to your life, through housing instability, cannot be adequately articulated through words alone. It’s devastating for the people experiencing it.
All too often, society paints our unhoused neighbors as people who are “just not trying hard enough”, or as Elon Musk likes to say “the parasite class” (btw can we all just agree at this point that he’s a Nazi?).
While some people may voluntarily choose to live a life without a home, the truth is most are pushed to the brink because of financial hardship, issues with health, or addiction.
As the income inequality increases in America, as housing prices continue to soar, we’re seeing more and more people finding themselves without a home.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - In 2024, the number of people experiencing homelessness in the United States increased by 18% compared to 2023, reaching a record high. This was the largest one-year increase in the count's history.
Why did I want to highlight this story?
In the flurry of Trump news, it is easy to forget how many issues still exist outside of the administration.
In a country that just saw the U.S. Supreme Court legalize the criminalization of homelessness, we cannot overlook the plight of the people who are struggling on the street.
We have to keep these stories at the forefront.
We should never normalize these tragedies.
Do you know someone who has been homeless or on the brink of homelessness? Please leave a comment below ⬇️
What Exactly Happened To This Family?
Before we go any further, let’s look at the reporting from the Detroit News about this story
A family facing homelessness reached out at least three times to Detroit's homeless response team, including as recently as late November, before two children froze to death in a van in a casino parking structure on Monday.
A day later, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan called for a review of city services for homelessness, the city's homeless call center and ways to make services more accessible after the children's deaths. They were ages two and nine.
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